Inseparable
by momoxtoshiro
Summary: It may not have been a matter of life and death, but to Yui, this was something almost just as dire. She didn't fully understand why, but she simply knew she had to run, had to go after her. Yukino was her best friend. [Season 2, episode 8].
1. Inseparable

**A/N: Just marathoned all 8 current episodes of S2 and I'm a wreck and it hurts so good. Set right at the end of episode 8. Not sure why I wrote this but I just…. had to… There's no point to it other than the fact that I was overwhelmed with feelings and needed to channel it somehow.**

 **Told from Yui's POV because I love the girls' friendship soooo much.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Oregairu.**

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Chapter 1. Inseparable

It was horrible.

Seeing her like that.

The past several weeks in the club room had been the same, following the same monotonous schedule.

With few requests to take care of and even fewer reasons to smile, Yui had all but forgotten how to.

Perhaps it was because of Yukino's fake smile, that plastered curl of thin lips that made her stomach twist every time she looked up from her phone.

She knew it was all because of what was happening with Hachiman and Iroha, and not only those things, but the events that had led up to it thus far. Everything as far back as his false confession to Ebina on the field trip was a contributing factor to their present situation.

And Yui hated it.

His frequent absence from the club room from then only invited silence, a solitude she was never sure could even exist between two people until she'd felt it for herself. She and Yukino conversed daily, but it was never the _same_. Something had always felt _off,_ and though Yui couldn't ever explain it, she understood it.

He'd left them behind - both of them - somehow convinced that his presence there would only hurt them further.

He was an idiot.

Yui had thought as much to herself daily as well, partially blaming him for the pain behind Yukino's painted smile, and partially blaming herself for her own inactivity and inability to help fix things.

In recent days, the typing of her fingers across her cell phone's keypad had been accompanied by only one book getting its pages flipped rather than two.

She hated that. It should've been two. It should always be two…

And so to see him barge in like that, demanding he was looking for something genuine with tears in those perpetually-stoic eyes, Yui had nearly jumped for joy.

He'd come back.

He'd come back because he'd wanted to.

He wanted to be with them, work with them.

Because he truly _did_ care about them.

And she'd understood that much at the very least.

But she had to admit there was still a great deal about this - about their relationships - that she still couldn't comprehend, and perhaps never would.

Yukino's reaction had snapped her back into reality, the reality that everything wasn't just magically going to be alright between the three of them just like that. Weeks of strained smiles and lifeless gazes couldn't be mended so easily, even if Hachiman's emotional display had been an undeniably breathtaking event.

Even if his confession had been all Yui needed, Yukino needed more.

But what it was or from whom she could obtain it from, she didn't know.

So she'd ran, clutching her arms around herself as though she'd found herself within a raging blizzard. The clatter of her chair, the choked breaths on her lips, the slamming of the door behind her…

Yui couldn't ignore those things.

It was too horrible to watch, too horrible to accept, too horrible to leave alone.

So with a tearful and desperate persuasion, she'd brought Hachiman along, dashing up the staircase with a fierce urgency despite the trembling of her legs.

It may not have been a matter of life and death, but to Yui, this was something almost just as dire. She didn't fully understand why, but she simply knew she had to run, had to go after her.

Yukino was her best friend.

She couldn't let her suffer this confusion alone.

Yui's declaration to Hachiman had been nothing but the truth; she'd never seen Yukino like that before, and it terrified her.

The girl _she_ knew always sat with her back straight, and hands in fists on her knees - not with her shoulders slouched and arms shaking as she hugged herself, under the impression that no one else in the world was willing to do such a thing.

The girl _she_ knew walked with confidence and poise - she didn't stumble over the leg of her own chair and rush to the door like a trapped animal seeking an escape route.

The girl _she_ knew was always polite and able to control her emotions - she never slammed doors or ran away from a situation she didn't understand.

Which was why Yui _knew_ she was truly in great pain with this now.

And that was also why it was such a relief to find her, standing out there on the stretch of pavement between the two school buildings.

The sunset was a swirl of pink and purple at her back, but even from that distance, Yui could see that her eyes were still dull.

They hadn't sparkled in weeks, since the field trip and Hachiman's staged confession.

It was all Yui could do to keep herself from falling to her knees as she ran to her.

Dread shot through her at the sound of Yukino's voice, quiet, reserved, and wobbling ever so slightly.

But most of all, it was scared.

Yukino was scared.

Yui had never known her to show fear before, not like this.

This wasn't the uncertainty that a job wouldn't work out.

This was true, genuine fear.

Her life was about to shatter, her most prominent relationships cracking and sliding apart more and more by the second.

She didn't know what to do.

She didn't understand.

Yui could only make an effort to comfort her, voicing her thoughts of how everything was going to be alright, despite her own lack of understanding of the emotions coursing through her. Whatever Yui herself was feeling, she knew it was less suffocating than what Yukino was experiencing right now.

Placing a hand on her shoulder was a small action, but it grounded herself and simultaneously supported Yukino. She was shaking - worse than Yui herself was - and she couldn't keep the tears at bay.

When she grabbed Yukino's other shoulder, Yui heard her gasp softly, as though she wanted to flee…

But she stayed. She didn't run away anymore.

Her eyes were still glazed, confused and hurt, her breathing shallow. But she wasn't so awfully frightened anymore.

Just… terribly confused, and still undoubtedly hurting.

Yui was amazed at herself that she could still managed to speak, the tumble of words spilling out even faster than the tears now.

"I… I hate the way things are right now…" she confessed.

Yui dropped her head to her friend's shoulder and wept, feeling warm wetness rushing down her cheeks to be absorbed by the other girl's uniform. Her fingers curled, hands clutching, gripping anything she could find to cling to.

She could feel Yukino's heart beneath her palm, throbbing so hard it made Yui bite her lip.

 _That_ was how scared Yukino had been.

 _That_ was how confused she _still_ was.

She didn't want to let her suffer like this anymore.

Yui felt as her friend tentatively reached up to hold onto her wrist; Yukino was still shaking.

Yui wanted to comfort her.

But she couldn't continue speaking right away, and instead, the other girl took the opportunity.

"Why… are you crying…?"

Yukino's voice rasped into her ear, thin and fragile. Yui could hear it in her tone that Yukino was almost at her breaking point.

She couldn't say it out loud, but Yui screamed her response in her mind:

 _Because_ you _won't! I'm crying for you too, Yukinon!_

All she could do was hug her tighter, blubbering a string of incomprehensible sounds into Yukino's shoulder. The girl was still shaking, and her heart was still thrumming thickly and rapidly enough for Yui to feel it. She could only shake her head and wail helplessly, silently begging Yukino to be okay.

Thankfully, Yukino didn't let her go.

"You really do… play dirty…"

And at long last, Yukino broke.

It wasn't a tremendous event, but Yui had never seen or felt her cry before.

And she was glad for it. She felt as though Yukino _really_ needed this. She felt she'd needed this for a very, very long time now.

The recent events that concerned her beloved club members had been pushing her too hard. Yukino was bound to have broken sooner or later.

Yui was just relieved she'd been there when it happened, that she'd been able to hold her and feel Yukino return her embrace.

Crying alone always hurt, but crying together suddenly didn't seem so bad.

And she was glad that Yukino was crying for the _right_ reasons now. It was all still a bit jarring, a jumbled mass of emotions swirling within her mind and her chest.

But at least she wasn't going to be losing Hachiman.

Neither of them would be.

And they would't be losing each other, either.

Yui could feel it now as Yukino gently stroked her hands through her hair - still trying to provide solace for others first and foremost, even though it was Yukino herself who needed the contact most of all right now.

Yui could only cling tighter, pull her closer, and cry a little harder. She felt as Yukino buried her head on her shoulder, in a similar fashion as to how Yui had done the same for her.

And for a moment, they didn't need words. For a moment, it was just ragged breathing and the gentle stroking of hands over backs and fingers through hair.

It was fragile moment, easily breakable, and entirely human.

But there was no shame in any of this, not in sobbing in each other's arms, not in their unrefined shortness of breath, not in letting Hachiman see them this way.

This was their relationship. They could be as strong or as weak as they needed to, as fickle or as persistent as they wanted to, and the three of them would never judge, never place blame.

And they'd never break apart.

If anything had come from all of this, it was that knowledge.

They'd always be together, whether they wanted it or not.

But all of this only proved that they all did.

The evening swept around them, a cool breeze passing them by, giving them all a much-needed breath.

The sky overlooked them, a fiery witness to the events that had transpired between the inseparable trio.

All of their time together thus far had led to this moment of regret, acceptance, and healing.

They'd continue to exist together, and in existing they would hurt one another and get hurt themselves.

But after all they'd been through, they knew they'd be able to handle it all, sometimes with tears and sometimes without them.

But either way, they'd withstand it all.

Together.

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 **A/N: Gosh, I'm so glad this show got a second season I love it so much.**

 **Please review!**


	2. Close For Comfort

**A commission for thedeathberryredux. Thank you so much!**

 **A/N: This takes place somewhere within season 2 episode 9.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Oregairu.**

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Chapter 2. Close For Comfort

The park was simply radiating with the traditional Christmas atmosphere.

Jolly music filled the air throughout every inch of the place, accompanied by the ever-present background noise of jingling bells. Every person in the crowds was bundled up under layers of colorful clothes, coats, scarves, and gloves.

But despite the chill in the air, they all seemed more than content to rush to their respective companions or family members to cling, laugh, and hurriedly continue on their way.

Yukino wished it could be that simple for her, too.

Even as she passed her gaze around the figures of every person of their group, she didn't feel as at-ease as she probably should have.

Despite the fact that she knew these people – that they were her classmates and respected upperclassmen – it was hardly comforting to see them scattered throughout such a crowd.

She'd never been good with so many people congested into one place. It wasn't exactly claustrophobia, but there was definitely a level of anxiety produced from being so closely compact with the dozens and dozens of people around her.

She couldn't help but sigh continuously as they made their way through the park. It wasn't to indicate that she wasn't enjoying herself – she really _was_ trying to. But the deep breaths were part of what helped her calm down a bit when the people around her got too close for comfort.

As their group traveled around the park, she did her best to keep herself controlled, always maintaining a distance of about two feet between herself and Yui. Although the girl's bubbling energy seemed to be contagious for just about every other person around, Yukino only discovered she would get exhausted a bit too quickly if she encountered it too often.

Luckily for her, when her overzealous companion got to be too much to handle, there was someone else who had a much lower energy level she could turn to.

Even though he was constantly huffing and rolling his eyes and likely making judgmental assumptions about every person around him in his mind, Hachiman never seemed bothered by the bigger crowds. His indifference wasn't exactly confidence, but for whatever reason, it made Yukino feel better.

So after an hour of weaving through strangers and being bumped into and pushed without regard, she retreated to his side, quietly and without a fuss.

Hachiman was no idiot. He'd been keeping one eye on her all day throughout their little winter wonderland adventure. She looked constantly drained, always putting a hand to her temple and sighing. He knew she wasn't feeling well, but it was just a bit difficult for him to find a way to interject and say something.

 _Is it pretentious of me?_ he'd thought to himself. _To think that I'm someone who can help her out in such a situation if she needed it? Yukinoshita's a big girl. She can handle herself._

But the minute he realized she'd dropped back to limp at an unsteady pace at his side, he couldn't think such things anymore.

"Whoa, there." He reached out to grab her sleeve just before she collided with a small child who was running around his mother's legs.

Yukino's eyes were glazed slightly, her face flushed pink, but he was starting to suspect it wasn't just because of all this cold air.

The second she felt herself begin tugged to the side, Yukino gasped softly, taking a step back. She put a hand to her face and rubbed her eyes, as though she'd just woken from a sleepwalk trance, then looked up to him.

"Sorry. Thanks..."

Even those two simple words sounded more than a little strained. Hachiman had seen her on the ride they'd gone on with Yui just half an hour ago. Yukino had wobbled onto the platform and sat down in a seat quickly enough that no one should've noticed her plight. But even if he hadn't seen the uncertainty in the way she'd moved, her rigid posture and death grip on the handle bars had spoken loudly enough.

Amusement parks more or less demanded that a person go on the rides, for that was considered the social norm. But places clogged with thousands of people all constantly moving and running and yelling just weren't her thing, and he could definitely understand that.

Presently, he could feel she wasn't about to keel over – at least not yet – so he let go of her sleeve.

"You wanna find a bench?" he offered.

She seemed to consider the thought for more than a second, but ultimately shook her head, her voice low.

"No. I don't want to lose the others."

"And I'm sure they don't wanna lose you. But if you keep this up, you're gonna need to go to the hospital."

"It's not that extreme."

"It doesn't matter."

She huffed again, exasperated, then sent a glare up at him, though it wasn't as fearsome as she might've liked it to be.

"Why do you care, anyway?"

"That's obvious," he grunted.

The moment of pause he gave allowed him to see the slight sparkle form in her eyes, though he wasn't sure what she was expecting him to say. Evidently, it wasn't what he really ended up saying.

"I don't want anyone getting sick from this stupid trip. It's supposed to be memorable for the sights and events, not going to the ER."

Yukino's expression shifted just a bit, her lips pursing tighter as she looked to the ground.

"Like I said, it's not that extreme. I'll be fine."

"Says the girl who can't even stand still for thirty seconds without swaying."

"Don't be rude."

"Don't be an idiot." He reached out to grasp her sleeve again. "Come on. There's a bench right there."

He led her over to it despite her protests, weak as they were. But he noticed she was following him rather willingly, as though she were relieved that someone was finally forcing her away from her unhealthy habits.

He cleared a path to the bench and made sure no one jostled her along the way. Once there, he released her sleeve and invited her to sit.

"Fine..." she sighed. "But now we've lost the others because of this."

"You underestimate the twenty-first century and the innovative new wonders of a cell phone."

As he spoke, he reached into his coat pocket to retrieve his phone. _I was gonna text Yuigahama anyway. She's the best person to deal with Yukinoshita when she's like this._

He might've been able to diagnose the symptoms, but he wasn't a healer. That job belonged to someone else.

He selected the designated number and then sent out a small text: _ **Can you hang back for a second? Yukinoshita's a little tired.**_

After sending it, he looked back to the bench.

Yukino was as stiff as ever, her hands balled into tight fists where they rested atop her knees, her posture slightly slouched. Dark locks of her hair were spilling out over the fronts of her shoulders, her usual calm, collected demeanor nowhere to be seen.

But he didn't know what more he could do than be the envoy to bring the person she needed most right now.

Or so he thought.

What he didn't know was how much she appreciated his concern, and how much she appreciated the fact that he'd remained standing beside her, glaring away any potentially pesky passerby. Had she been alone, she knew there would have been at least a handful of boys swarming around her already, asking intrusive questions.

But Hachiman was like a guard dog for her right now, perhaps a bit leisurely, but if trouble were to arise somehow, she had no doubts that he wouldn't just be all bark and no bite.

So now that she felt she could relax for a moment, she focused on filling her lungs, absentmindedly wiping the back of her hand over her forehead.

The action didn't go unnoticed, and a few seconds later, Hachiman had reached his hand down to her.

"Take off the scarf," he suggested. "You're flushed."

She peered up at him past her bangs, almost puzzled until the words made sense. Without a word, she unraveled her scarf, silently admitting it felt much better to let a bit of air caress her neck where she'd previously been sweating.

Once it was removed, she handed him her scarf with a small nod of thanks. He merely shrugged, though his eyes were still trained on her.

"Any better?"

"Yes. Just a bit."

"Better than nothing," he said, satisfied.

She blinked up at him, the nodded.

He was almost certain enough to say that she'd smiled, but a flustered voice coming from behind him prevented him from checking.

"Hikki! Yukinon!"

Both of them looked up toward the direction where the voice had come from. Yui was scrambling her way through the crowds, squeaking apologies as she hurried toward them.

Hachiman winced when he felt a cold stare upon him.

"Hikigaya-kun." He turned back to look down at her. Her eyes were still tired and her arms were crossed over her chest in a defensive position. But her voice was stern as she scolded him. "I thought you were merely telling her we stopped for a break. You didn't have to tell her to come find us."

"I didn't tell her to," he mumbled unconvincingly. "Should've known she'd come back hunting for us on her own."

Yukino merely sighed, knowing it was too late to protest now.

Yui squeezed past a few more people, finally catching sight of her two companions. Hachiman was holding a scarf that wasn't his, and the moment they made eye contact, she called out to him again.

"Hikki! I'm here! Where is she?" She covered the last few feet of distance between them, and only then did he step aside.

Yukino was seated on the bench, looking a little overwhelmed by everything. Yui was used to festivals and parks like this, but she could see how the sounds and colors and random movement could get discombobulating for someone who wasn't used to it all.

Yui didn't waste a second in beelining for the bench to sit beside her friend.

"Yukinon! Are you okay?"

"That Hikigaya-kun..." she muttered. "He didn't need to call you."

He grimaced. "I'm right here, you know."

"In any case," Yukino went on, ignoring him. "You didn't need to come, Yuigahama-san. I was just taking a little rest."

"No, I'm glad Hikki texted me! I'd feel so bad if you were back here feeling unwell and I was up there having a good time and not knowing! You should've said something, Yukinon!"

"It's not that big a deal. Honestly."

"But you're so pale!" Yui wailed. "I'm sorry. I should've paid more attention. You said it before that the crowd was hard for you to handle..."

"It's not something you need to apologize for," Yukino reassured her.

"But still. I should've been more mindful. We're friends, after all."

And there it was. The word Yukino couldn't refute or deny.

Hachiman smirked a bit as he watched her sigh again, caving at Yui's candid feelings as she so often did.

But still, she was rather stubborn.

"I just didn't want to worry you."

"Yukinon..." Yui reached out to take both of her hands, squeezing gently. "I'd rather worry about you _now_ when you're not feeling well rather than worry about you _later_ after I've found out that you got sick or something. Know what I mean?"

Yukino sighed, defeated.

"Yes. I suppose you're right... I guess I worried you even though I didn't want to."

 _Yeah,_ Hachiman thought. _If you try to avoid someone so you won't worry them, what do you think they're gonna do when they find out about it? Worry more, of course. Especially in Yuigahama's case._

But at least Yukino had acknowledged her mistake.

Yui sighed and gave a small smile.

"It's okay, Yukinon. Just make sure you don't let it happen again. If Hikki or I are around, we'll always come help you! And even if we're not around, we'll come anyway!"

 _Speak for yourself!_ he grumbled internally.

But as he looked at the two of them now, the prospect of running across town in the middle of the night if either of them would ever need him to wasn't seeming so far-fetched.

He continued standing guard, clutching the scarf in his palm as Yui scooched closer to the dark-haired girl. She couldn't tell if Yukino appeared to be more pale or flushed, but somehow she seemed to be both.

Tentatively, Yui reached her arms up around the girl's back and pulled her close. She could feel Yukino breathing a bit unevenly, probably a little more quickly than what was comfortable. Yui patted her back softly and murmured reassurance to her.

"Just take it easy, okay?"

Yukino was a bit surprised by the embrace, but she found it wasn't stifling or suffocating. Not in the slightest. It was a bit loose, just enough that she could pull away if she wanted to.

But she found she didn't want to.

Yui's presence was a slight pressure against her chest, but it was more grounding than anything else. It reminded her how to breathe properly, and she matched her breaths to Yui's, closing her eyes as she rested her chin on the girl's shoulder.

Yui waited for a moment, feeling as the tension drained from Yukino's shoulders, and her chest stopped heaving.

A few minutes later, she pulled away, offering a bright smile as she sought Yukino's gaze.

"Are you okay?"

The other girl wiped her forehead again, but the sweat was gone.

"Yes. Thank you, Yuigahama-san."

The other girl merely grinned and hugged her again.

Then, Yui stood, helping Yukino to her feet as well.

At last, Hachiman relinquished his grip on the scarf and returned it to its rightful owner.

As Yui gently curled it around Yukino's shoulders, the dark-haired girl flashed him a glance.

"And you too, Hikigaya-kun. Thank you."

He blinked, rather surprised by the gratitude, but he quickly shrugged it off.

"I didn't do anything."

She almost argued that he _had_ in fact done something, but decided against it for now. She caught his eye, and just that alone told her that he was merely happy to help.

Yui finished wrapping the scarf around her friend's shoulders, then clapped her hands together.

"Alright! Let's meet the others! They're getting a bite to eat at that little cafe." Before either Yukino or Hachiman could protest, Yui slipped in between them, hooking one arm around each of theirs. "Come on, come on! Let's enjoy the rest of this trip together, you guys!" She marched forward, giving them no other options.

Yukino couldn't help but chuckle slightly, her gaze meeting Hachiman's once more for a second.

And even he cracked a small smile.

The trio headed off together, maintaining a close proximity that was just comfortable enough.

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 **A/N: I'm still getting used to writing these three, so I hope this was alright. Just Hikki having to realize he really has people he cares about~**

 **Please review!**


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